Peninsula Police Seek Armed Serial Robbers

May 16 - KGO (KGO) -- Police at Stanford University are hoping sketches released Tuesday morning will help them capture two suspects after four robberies - two on campus, and two in nearby Palo Alto in the past week. The latest attack came on Monday night, when a student was robbed at gunpoint on Campus Drive.

Stanford police say these are the first armed robberies they've had in almost six years  it has shaken the security of the campus, and the city.

Deputy Ken Bates, Stanford University Department of Public Safety: "Essentially, Stanford is a small city and anything can happen here."

And it is happening -- real world crime on the typically calm campus of Stanford University -- two armed robberies in a week.

Will Rawson, Stanford University student: "I'm surprised to hear about either one, to be honest."

On May 10, a 21-year-old female student was walking to her car on a campus parking lot. It was about 10:00 p.m. when two men approached her. One showed a gun and they robbed her of cash.

Police sketches of the suspects show the pair to be about 18-years-old. One was wearing a bandana, the other a baseball cap.

Christina Ward, Stanford University Student: "It's pretty shocking, just because I'm used to being able to walk around by myself at any time."

Then another robbery -- Monday night at 11:30 p.m., three men - one with a gun - robbed a male student of cash and a cell phone as he walked to his dorm at Crothers Hall.

In both these cases, neither student was hurt, but police are concerned because there have also been two similar robberies on the streets of Palo Alto on the same two days as Stanford.

The other robbery occurred early Monday morning as a woman walked from an ATM to her car on Middlefield Road.

Agent Rich Bullerjahn, Palo Alto police department: "The same style, and the same use of a handgun, and the same suspects taking the cellular phones off of the victims make us believe that these are a similar group."

Police say victims in the Palo Alto cases were struck in the head, but are okay.

The robberies have become an unsettling pattern both police departments are hoping to crack, and they're asking the public to watch out if they're out walking at night.

Ashley Brewer, Stanford University student: "I'll probably walk out with my keys in my hand if I'm walking alone at night or something."

>> <font color="red">Video On Demand: Build Your Own Newscast</font>

Get more News »

• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•